Britain spurn the big opening

Great Britain 14 New Zealand 14

Great Britain showed the resilience and courage needed to keep their series against New Zealand alive, but they could have gone one better by winning a classic Test match in its final, breathless minutes.

An enthralled capacity crowd at Huddersfield had seen an epic struggle in which the Lions twice seemed to be losing their way, but a penalty from an inspiring leader, Andy Farrell, three minutes from time tied the scores. That left them hunting for a winning drop goal, but three chances to score the clinching point eluded them before Paul Deacon's last-ditch effort from long range drifted wide.

That means that Great Britain cannot now win a series against the Kiwis for the first time in nine years, but a repeat of this effort at Wigan next week would give them every chance of taking a share of the spoils. "I'm disappointed not to have won, but very, very pleased with the improvement,'' said the Great Britain coach, David Waite.

Waite and the rest of the McAlpine Stadium had feared the worst in the first quarter, when the Kiwis looked set to take control and make sure of the series. After a bright British opening, a debatable decision on a scrum feed from the Australian referee Steve Clark gave New Zealand a chance they seized avidly.

After the scrum, Clinton Toopi made inroads and the winger, Francis Meli, exchanged passes with Robbie Paul to complete a spectacular 60-yard move that typified the flair with which the Kiwis have played on this tour.

Great Britain brought further trouble on themselves after 18 minutes when, perhaps haunted by the problems with kicks toward the left wing in the first Test, Keith Senior obstructed Henry Fa'afili to concede a penalty needlessly.

The Kiwis battered the line and when Richard Swain threw the ball out to Stacey Jones, his lovely inside pass sent Stephen Keaney on a low, angled drive over the line for a try converted by Swain.

It looked grim for Great Britain, who had lost Adrian Morley to flu before the game and saw Terry O'Connor's effectiveness drastically reduced by a heavy knock early in the game. That left an awful lot for the remaining front-rowers to do, but Stuart Fielden and Paul Anderson were two of their heroes as Great Britain clawed their way back into the match.

They kept the Kiwi line under pressure and got their reward after half an hour when James Lowes and Paul Sculthorpe – back in the side after injury and making a huge difference – flung out long passes and Leon Pryce got over the line on the right wing.

Farrell kicked the conversion from wide out and Britain were back in the contest. Early in the second half, they took the lead when Lowes showed some of his ingenuity near the line with an angled kick which Meli let slip. Martin Gleeson was there to pick up the pieces and Farrell's goal gave Britain a narrow advantage.

After that, it was Britain's turn to have to soak up insistent pressure from a resurgent New Zealand, who had the benefit of being able to bring on big, fit replacements to bolster their efforts. They hammered away until something had to give; it did, when Senior threw an ill-advised pass and Ruben Wiki bounced out of a series of weary tackles for what looked suspiciously like the deciding try.

Great Britain had other ideas and managed to raise their game for one last effort. There was a doubt about the penalty awarded to them when Danny Orr was ruled to have had the ball stolen from him on the ground, but if it was a lucky break it was one that they deserved by this stage.

Farrell never looked like missing the equalising goal and now it was Great Britain who had the momentum behind them. It was they who had the chances to win the game, but twice they could not get the vital pass to the kicker as the Kiwis rushed at them and once Lowes tried a little grubber kick himself instead.

Deacon's final effort was close, though not close enough. "It was a game that slipped away,'' said the Kiwi coach, Gary Freeman. But both sides could have said that.

Great Britain 14 New Zealand 14
Tries: Pryce, Gleeson Tries: Meli, Kearney Wiki 65
Cons: Farrell 2 Con: Swain
Pen: Farrell

Half-time: 6-10

Great Britain: Connolly (Wigan), Pryce (Bradford), Gleeson (St Helens), Senior (Leeds), Gilmour (Bradford), Sculthorpe (St Helens), Deacon (Bradford), O'Connor (Wigan), Lowes (Bradford), Fielden (Bradford), Peacock (Bradford), Farrell (Wigan), Forshaw (Bradford). Substitutes: Sinfield (Leeds), Horne (Hull), Anderson (Bradford), Orr (Castleford).

New Zealand: Paul (Bradford), Fa'afili (NZ Warrriors), Vagana (Canterbury), Toopi, Meli, Hohaia, Jones, Seuseu (all NZ Warriors), Swain (Melbourne), Rauhihi (Canterbury), Wiki (Canberra), Kearney (Melbourne), Guttenbeil (NZ Warriors). Substitutes: Puletua (Penrith), Lauiti'iti, Betham, Swann (all NZ Warriors).

Referee S Clark (Australia).